V3.1 Problem - system debugger active

trumph · Post by **trumph** » 16 Dec 2006 01:18

Just downloaded version 3.1 and when I try to start the program I get the following message:- For security purposes, this program will not run while system debuggers are active. Please remove or disable the system debugger before trying to run this program again.
Can anyone tell me what this means. The program was working perfectly before the version 3.1 upgrade.[frown]

ID:2031

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 16 Dec 2006 08:53

I think that must be some sort of problem with your antispam/malware system, or that the download cut out early.

Have you done the install or do you get the error when installing?

If it's during the in install try the following

If you experience problems installing the upgrade there are a couple
of things to check.

First Right Click on the file and select properties.
If the file size is not 2.55Mb (2,676,072) there is a good chance the
download cut out while the file was downloading.

If this is the case.
Make a note of the size you have.
Delete the downloaded file.
Clear your internet cache (Control Panel/Internet Options for IE)
Try the Download again, if the file is still the same size, it is
possible that your ISP has also cached the file. If so try
downloading from the alternate site at http://www.fhug.org.uk

trumph · Post by **trumph** » 16 Dec 2006 17:50

It has installed, the problem occurs when I try to actually use the program. I will try your suggestion though and re-download from fhug & install again.
Many thanks.

Post by **SimonOrde** » 16 Dec 2006 20:36

Trumph

the problem must be occuring because there is a conflict between Family Historian and something else that you are running on your PC. The first thing to try is to reboot your PC and start FH before running anything else. If that works OK, then try running candidate programs and see which of them is causing the conflict.

If FH does not run even if you run it first thing after rebooting, there must be some program that is started up automatically with Windows which is conflicting with it. In that case, you would need to look at what programs start up automatically when your PC starts. If you need help with that, post back to this thread and I will make some suggestions about how to do that.

If you succeed in working out which program is conflicting with F.H. please post this information back here. Thank you.

trumph · Post by **trumph** » 18 Dec 2006 20:47

Thanks Simon.
I have been running Family Historian without any conflict problems from V2.1.8, V2.24 to V3 (all loaded from CD-ROM). This has only occurred with the downloaded V3.1.
After this initial problem I Uninstalled then re-installed from the 3 CD-ROMs to get back to V3. This worked fine again.
To try out your suggestion I disconnected from the internet then closed down my Firewall & Antivirus. I also disabled the screen saver.
I then installed the V3.1 upgrade. When the program is run I get the message:-
'For security purposes, this program will not run while system debuggers are active. Please remove or disable the system debugger before trying to run this program again.' When I click OK I then get:-
'Critical Error
LoadLibrary FAILURE:CWINDOWSSystem32spoolDRIVERSW32X863ISShel01.DDL, GetLastError()=1114 '
When I click OK the program opens and allows me to open a file and display the list of individuals. I can select one and right click to view the properties but as soon as I try to display in tree view I get the above messages which cycle round 3 times when I click OK then I get an insufficeint memory message.
First, I would like to know if there is a quick way of reverting back to my tried & trusted V3 or have I got to uninstal & re-install from the 3 previous disks?
Whilst I can understand that there may well be a conflict, it is V3 which is conflicting with a program which it previously ran alongside. I therefore consider this is a fault with the V3.1 code which makes it unacceptable.
I am running under Windows XP Home SP2 on a 3.2 Mhz 512mb 80GB laptop.
Looking forward to some sound advice please.

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 18 Dec 2006 21:00

A system debugger is normally a code sniffer. Just in case FH is picking up another problem, it might be worth running a spyware, such as Adaware, program over your system, especially as this problem does not seem to be wide spread with other users. If you can perhaps you could check your process list for any programs hiding there that you do not expect to be there.

Post by **SimonOrde** » 18 Dec 2006 22:19

Trumph - Here are a few suggestions to add to Jane's.

First though - to revert to version 3 you have to uninstall, and then reinstall. Before doing that, however, I would urge you to try to find out which program is causing the conflict. Family Historian says that something on your PC is behaving like a system debugger. If you are not aware of any system debuggers installed on your PC this seems to me a matter worth investigating. Bear in mind that so far we have had no reports of anyone else experiencing anything like what you are describing. Also bear in mind that by its nature a system debugger is a program that has access to the internals of your system. This is something that should normally only happen if you are a high-powered software developer using some specialised and high-powered tools. Ordinary programs do not get this kind of access.

You can do checks without having to uninstall or reinstall FH yet (assuming that you still have 3.1 installed at present). The first thing to try is rebooting in Safe Mode, and seeing whether F.H. will run OK then.

To get into Safe Mode, you have to restart your computer and press a special key intermittently while it boots ( usually F8 ). A menu will appear. Select Safe Mode and Windows will start with all networking and many other features temporarily excluded. Now try running FH3. Does it run OK? If it runs OK, the next step is to try and work out what is stopping it running in normal mode.

To get out of Safe Mode incidentally, just restart your PC. It will then
reboot in the normal mode.

Before proceeding further, you might be advised to create a restore point that you can always get back to. To do this click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore, then tick Create a restore point, click Next and follow the instructions.

So back in normal mode (i.e not Safe mode): on most PCs there is usually a list of programs that run automatically when you start up. Some of these may be in the 'Startup' part of your Start > All Programs menu. Others may not be listed there, but auto-start anyway. If you click 'Start' and then 'run' and type 'msconfig' and press Return, this will bring up the System Configuration Utility with a list of programs that
start up automatically in the 'Startup' tab. Some programs also give themselves an icon in the System Tray (the area at the right side of the task bar at the bottom of the main window, and may let you disable them from there).

Try disabling as many of these (temporarily) as you can and reboot your PC.Then trying running FH (first thing after re-booting). If it runs OK, try re-enabling the various things you disabled and repeat (i.e. reboot and run FH again), and see if you can work out which one is causing the conflict. If using this approach you can find the conflicting program, you then need to decide what to do about it. The answer will depend in part on what the program turns out to be.

In you do try any of the above, please let me know the outcome.

Post by **SimonOrde** » 18 Dec 2006 22:27

Sorry in my previous email I typed F8 (the letter 'F' followed by the numeral eight), and it got turned into a face wearing sunglasses. Not sure how that happened.

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 18 Dec 2006 23:09

Sun glasses fixed, it was because you had an 8 then a )

Post by **steveabye** » 19 Dec 2006 01:22

Trumph

What Win are you running.

I have XP Home SP2, did a search on *.DDL, not one file returned.

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 19 Dec 2006 08:58

The ISSHELL file looks to be some sort of ink saving software. It might be worth uninstalling that to see if that is the problem. I found the listing on a spyware site as the ink saving software looks to use 'debug' tricks to nab data sent to the printer. It's not spyware, but does look like it to some detection programs, as it 'spys' on the printer driver.

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 19 Dec 2006 10:17

I was doing a little digging and found this posted on another program, which I suspect used the same security routines as FH

Q: I'm getting a 'security warning' about a debugger being active?

A: Are you running an application called InkSaver? This ink-reducing utility seems to use a very low-level system debugger to function, which is extremely unusual and trips our security system (which mistakes the debugger for the kind of specialized tool that a hacker would use to 'crack' our application). We can't imagine why InkSaver would need to use such a technique; unfortunately we cannot
reduce our overall security level to allow this special case combination to function.

trumph · Post by **trumph** » 20 Dec 2006 23:24

I'm runnin XP SP2 Home as well.
Jane's InkSaver finding is worrying as I had it installed. I am suprised if v3.1 was not tested with such a common program as InkSaver though.
I have uninstalled InkSaver now but have not had a chance to re-instal v3.1 to test if this is the problem. I will have to soldier on with v3.0 for a while as I cannot afford to spend more time at the moment. Each time I hit this problem it means uninstalling v3.1 and re-installing all previous disks which takes time. I will test it when I get time and post any results.
I have swept the system for Spyware and it's clear.

trumph · Post by **trumph** » 21 Dec 2006 21:56

Good news Simon, Jane's theory has cracked the problem. Having uninstalled InkSaver I have installed the v3.1 upgade and it works O.K. I uninstalled InkSaver because I wanted to be sure that I had removed all references to it on the system. I felt that disabling it from the start up would have left a doubt if it still failed.
So that is the good news, now I want to know how you can get it to run with InkSaver. As I stated in my previous posting InkSaver is a commonly used program which Family Historian must be made to run with. I am very suprised that this was not tested before release.[smile]

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 21 Dec 2006 23:30

I don't think it is that common and have only had one other report of anyone else using it. None of the beta testers for instance used it. The other user has taken it up with the UK desk for Inksaver, I see the programs methods recently caused problems with Norton Security as well.

trumph · Post by **trumph** » 22 Dec 2006 14:26

I have also sent a report to InkSaver. However, I suspect their reaction will be if Family Historian worked before why not the new version. Will post any reply I get.

Post by **SimonOrde** » 19 Jan 2007 11:23

I've just heard back from InkSaver's 2nd line support who say that they now have a fix for this problem. Quote:

'If your customers report this issue with InkSaver they can download the latest version from our website at http://www.inksaver.com/overview/demo-download.html.'

trumph · Post by **trumph** » 20 Jan 2007 01:20

I have received the following from Ink Saver:-
'This problem actually related to the copy protection which was integrated with InkSaver. The manufacturer of the copy protection system has since updated their software and we have posted the latest version of InkSaver on our website for download. You can download this at http://www.inksaver.com/overview/demo-download.html'.
Those who originally purchased IS are provided with a Registration Code to activate the full version.
I have downloaded and installed this new version and tested V3.1 which works fine now.[smile]

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